A Maid For Namimori
by DapplesNotSpots
Summary: It was supposed to be the perfect plan. She was supposed to gather information and return in a few weeks time. She was supposed to come back unharmed and untouched. But, as the world will explain, assuming makes an ass of you and me. GokuderaXOC BelXOC
1. Chapter 1: A Day In The Life

_"Up in the clouds and down in the alleys, over the hills and through every valley. Next to the ocean and above the treetops, below the daisies and stuck in the dewdrops-" I whisked my broom across the perfectly patterned tile on a veranda. It was far too early in the morning for anyone to hear me, so I figured it'd be safe to sing a little tune. But I soon learned I was damn wrong as a grape hit me in the temple. Fuck. Me._

_"God dammit, you stupid woman! Voi! Do you have any idea how early it is?" Superbi Squalo, the only twenty year old to ever look like an ancient relic, stamped one of his feet on the ground like an impatient two year old. Well, at least he was being quieter than normal. Which meant he wasn't howling at the top of his lungs but instead managing to echo a stifled screech from the halfway point. Because I was singing. For two seconds. Outside. At six in the morning. Now, granted, my household isn't exactly lax on the whole singing thing, but seriously. I've already cleaned the entire hideout, meaning I've been up since three, and polished all the silverware. _

_Just like every other day, I've had about ten minutes of actual sleep that wasn't haunted by Xanxus induced nightmares or Belphegor calling me into his room to clean crumbs off his bed. He's got a room like a fucking pigsty but if anything even so much as comes near his precious, four-post bed, he calls in the cavalry. But, to continue making my point, I've cleaned up every mess Squalo has ever made tracking mud and vital human liquids into the house, I've ironed every one of his articles of clothing after spending hours getting the stains out, and I've made him a fantastic breakfast, one dubbed delicious by Lussuria himself, every single for five years. But I sing two notes and he looks at me like I've killed his first-born son? No. Fucking. Way. Not this time. This maid was going to fight back._

_"Yes, Master Squalo." and just like that I let my true Italian blood show through, allowing me to be a full-on coward. I fucking hated it here but, at the same time, it was the best I could ever get and, therefore, a total relief. I'd been an orphan before I auditioned for the Varia, the best job I'd ever qualify for was being an old homeless woman with dreadlocks and a seventeen year old chihuahua. Sure, I didn't make any money, I lost so much sleep my body was slowly deteriorating, and I was only allowed to eat dinner, but that was all part of the job. It wasn't supposed to be, though. At age nine me and a horde of young orphans were told, by none other than Superbi Squalo himself, that we were auditioning for a role in a movie that would change our lives. _

_Of course, it wasn't a movie at all. The Varia were just looking for someone to be their slave and they figured young orphans would be the easiest prey. I fought two other kids to the death with hopes of being in some unnamed sham of a movie. Guess what I won? A full time job that would end up killing me in only a few years' time. Not to mention, once I was told the actual nature of the job, I would be slaughtered if I didn't accept or tried to run away. So here I am, reflecting on my horrible past. In hopes of escaping the absolutely terrible present. Ah, sweet nostalgia._

_"Make me some coffee, trash..." Squalo rubbed the side of his head as if he were in some serious pain and left me to wipe grape juice off my own skull. He was probably hung over or something. As much as people like to believe the Varia are clean cut and never let their guard down, this hideout is a fucking cave. Xanxus is always plastered, he has a lineup of healthy men waiting to give him their livers I kid you not, Belphegor lives in absolute filth half the time, and seems to actually adore it, Mammon spends most of the day counting money, he's got all his gold coins lined up in his room and watches my every move when I clean in there, Lussuria has seriously built himself a little rape dungeon and leaves to go in search of Filipino boys in cutoff denim shorts at least three night a week, Leviathan doesn't ever do anything other than go get more piercings, honestly I've never seen him do a single thing around here except walk in and out the front door, and Squalo gets drunk and screams at people far more often than you'd think. And guess who gets to clean all of that up? You guessed it! Me, the maid._

_I don't even have a name anymore; I'm just Maid at this point. Though I'll admit than Xanxus and Squalo have given me the pet names Trash, Scum, and Woman. I put my broom away sharply and scuffed into the kitchen. It's not that I hate being a maid, I'm actually just fine with cooking and cleaning for everyone, I just want some damn respect. But, it doesn't seem like my longing will be answered anytime soon. Honestly, I'm just happy to have a place to live, regardless of the job I have to perform. So, thinking of the pros and not the extremely outweighing cons, I managed to make Squalo a perfect pot of coffee and brought his favorite mug up to his room. He slammed the door in my face with no thank you. Oh well. I was used to all of that by now._

_So I dragged myself back to the kitchen to make Xanxus his breakfast. It consisted of a collection premium cockatiel eggs, straight from Mumbai, and a steak large enough for a bear and his family. I had to make sure everything was properly packaged and sealed, as to avoid the salmonella issue that nearly killed me last month, and then the meat had to be grilled perfectly to a red and juicy rare. That was brought to his room and placed on the nightstand next to his bed._

_Then came the preparation of everyone else's breakfast. There had to be toast, enough butter for an entire country to live on, a collection of muffins, jams, jellies, and even the occasional marmalade. Lussuria got a choice cut of meat, due to his high protein needs, and Squalo's selection of fantastic foods had to be brought up to his room. How I handled all of this I did not know. I had about three hours to sweep, vacuum, and mop the entire house, which was not a house as much as it was a town, and check all the mouse traps in Belphegor's room which turned up fruitless. _

_Add become an exterminator to the to-do list. Because of the Varia's assassin lifestyle I was forced to do everything. Luckily, they took care of the house very well aside from the occasional plumbing issue. But lately Bel's room had been attracting mice, ants, cockroaches, and any other evil pest you can think of. Instead of calling an exterminator or at least someone who knows what they're doing, they'll have me try my hand at it. Something will go wrong and I'll be subjected to brutal punishment. That's how it goes every time there's a house problem._

_I made a mad dash back down to the kitchen at eleven thirty to be called upon like a short order cook. At about one, I was finally able to get some serious work done. I cleaned all the rooms, including the gym, checked the pool and cleaned out any stray leaves, washed the windows, finished the dishes, cleaned the kitchen for the this time, and took care of any other possible issues at the house. I found Mammon's lost gold coin, ordered Bel a pizza and protected it from the other hungry Varia, helped Lussuria pick out shorts for his boy-toy, and brought Squalo aspirin. At five, I was ready to collapse from hunger, exhaustion, and general lack of joy, but I prevailed long enough to make a perfect dinner of authentic, Sicilian pizza and a platter of lamb's heart for Lussuria. I packed away seven slices of my creation, two hunks of tiramisu, and about a gallon of water. Then, after cleaning the kitchen a fourth time, I finished my garden work and curled up in a ball on a couch for the most sleep I'd get in a long while. Cue page from Lussuria._

_"What is it?" I gave my favorite fruit basket of a man a blank stare. Make no mistake; he is my favorite because I haven't met any others._

_"Well, I was sitting around and I thought we might have a little girl time~!" he crooned, tossing a generic fashion magazine to the side. Great. Now I had to pick that up. And participate in Lussuria's version of 'girl time'. It consists of me rigorously styling his already perfectly manicured nails while he asks me pointless questions and discusses his vivid sex life._

_"Isn't girl time having fun at the mall? Not forcing your maid to talk to you and do your nails?" I grumbled, hoping he'd let me go sleep. Sweet, sweet blissful sleep. I haven't seen the in such a long time._

_"I know girl time isn't shooting a maid in the face!" and sleep would just have to wait. Lussuria smiled as I started filing feverishly._

_"Now I want to hear about all the men in your life, and I mean all the dirty details~"_

_"Lussuria, I live in a house with only the Varia. I was told if I had any romantic relations with any of the Varia, I'd be killed. Obviously there's no romance in my life." it was true. I was fifteen and totally clueless about anything romantic. The only thing I would ever sleep with would be the bed or the couch. But that was okay because I had a job and a home. Yes, it was a job that shook the very fiber of my being with displeasure and horror; however, it was still a good job._

_"What about Bel? You're his toy, aren't you~?" Lussuria giggled. I thought he was going to hold both his arms up and sing the word scandalous._

_"Again. Varia officer. I'd die."_

_"That doesn't matter, love conquers all!"_

_"I want to live."_

_"You mean love."_

_"No, I mean live. I want to stay alive. Unless it means we have to keep talking." I was about ready to stab myself in the chest. Lussuria shrugged it off like it was nothing._

_"Fine, we can talk about me instead..." and the rest has been censored for my mind and yours. I finally made it out of there at about seven, only to be called away by Belphegor. What fun! He was probably having trouble finding anything in his shit hole of a room. I cleaned it every single day but it was always disgusting the next. And that's what I mean by respect. At least have the decency to throw things in the actual trash._

_"What is it?" I had brought all my cleaning supplies in case things got out of hand. I also had some rat poison for any demonic mice that may have been terrorizing him. But no, he was lying on his precious, four-post bed spinning his tiara around one of his bony fingers. I tried not to look directly at his smile for fear of being blinded._

_"I need my jacket and I want you to polish my crown." he started snickering as if it was the most hilarious joke of all time. I went into his closet and tugged his beloved Varia jacket off the hanger. Leave it to him to abuse the power of the maid. Of course, he stood up and held his arms out instead of taking the article of clothing and putting it on himself. I couldn't say I minded too much. He was my favorite of the officers because he never made me do anything too cruel. Squalo liked to pour pots of coffee on my head if they weren't perfect, Xanxus tortured me if his meals weren't exact, Mammon thought I was a thieving bitch, Leviathan punched me in the chest every time he saw me, and Lussuria forced me to listen to his sex stories. Belphegor only had me clean his room and dress him. I don't know why, probably just because he was some horny sixteen year old, but he strongly preferred me putting his coat. Plus, he let me wear his crowns sometimes and they made me feel pretty._

_I was used to wearing a maid's outfit constantly, so putting on a crown while I cleaned his pigsty of a room made me feel gorgeous. Most people would think a maid's outfit would make you feel attractive, but mine's less than flattering. It goes to just below the knee, nothing sexy there, and it's got a collar so I don't ever feel like a little French maid or anything. But I put on a tiara and feel like a pretty princess! It's the little things for someone like me. I slid each sleeve of his gangly arms and zipped the trench coat up to mid chest. _

_After five years, you learn exactly how everyone likes everything. I have the shape to get for Lussuria's nails down to a science and I know every possible place for Mammon's coins to hide. Food has been exacted and I even know which scents not to use when cleaning certain parts of the house. I got to work polishing his favorite crown before fixing it in his hair just the way he liked it. A little crooked, to the left side, secure but loose, and polished like a dream._

_"Have fun killing people." I gave him a little wave and headed through the marsh of trash that had formed before sliding out the door._

_"I'll bring you a souvenir~ Ushishishishi~" he sang, chortling his signature giggle. That gave me just enough time to collapse on the couch before I fell asleep._

"You've been staring at the class for five minutes, introduce yourself or sit down!" a furious voice called me back from my nostalgia. I glanced at my surroundings in disbelief. I was in total shock from the previous events of the night and everyone was staring at me like a bug under a microscope. I mustered up the last bit of my voice and addressed the children in front of me.

"I'm Ragazza..." I rubbed a pair of sweaty palms on my new, pale blue skirt. Every ounce of normality had been sucked from my life. I felt pressured to say more, though I was simply hoping to keep from bawling,

"I'm new to... N-N-Namimori."

* * *

_**Hope for a new story~ I've just been itching to write something fresh and I've never read a maid story before! Plus, I'm sort of tired of the classic hitman story... People have done that to motherfucking death! Anywho~ I hope all you readers enjoyed this and want to stick around for more! Thanks for reading, mooncalves~**_

_**~DNS**_


	2. Chapter 2: Meltdown

"Ragazza, would you care to come up?" I swallowed sharply. The teacher reached a small marker out in my direction, as if trying to tempt me to participate in his little math game. How would people react if I told them I couldn't multiply? I had never been taught to do anything mathematical, not even the most basic operations. Dividing made me feel like I was going to die and I could hardly wrap my head around the participation of shapes in all of this gibberish. Why had he sent me here? What use could I possibly be to Xanxus all the way in Japan? A maid was supposed to clean, _not_ spy.

_"Voi! Why are you napping?" Squalo rammed a heavily booted foot into my stomach. It roared a starving reply. Leave it to Squalo to torture the person who cleans up all his messes. I would have loved to give that bastard a piece of my mind. He deserved it, god dammit! I should have given him what-for right then and there! I should have taught him not to mess with me! I was on my feet saluting him with elegant poise in a matter of mere milliseconds, however, no matter how much I would have loved to shove my broom down his throat it would be starting a battle I couldn't win. So, instead, I kept my head on my shoulders and awaited his instruction. I was expecting the normal demand for a pot of coffee or a special cocktail, but he took me by complete surprise in pushing a bar of soap at me. Squalo grabbed the small black ribbon secured about my collar and pulled me so close our foreheads collided painfully. He took on his most beseeching and growling tone before speaking again,_

_"Go take a bath, you pig. Xanxus's orders." I nearly died right then and there. The combined forces of Squalo's terrifying voice and the great news he delivered it in made me shrivel like a raisin and then explode into excitement. Lots of people take advantage of the bath, thinking of it as an absolute necessity, and believing that one must be taken at least every week. But not me. I'm allowed two, five minute showers every month at the most. I used to sneak a third in when Belphegor_ _was using the adjacent bathroom, he promised he wouldn't tell anyone permitting I brought whatever he requested to his princely suite that night. However, I was caught by Mammon who was attempting to find someone to bathe him. It was always my job to do so because he was a baby and, despite being an evil, Arcobaleno genius, had a good chance of drowning without someone to watch him. So every other day I filled one of the sinks up to the brim and let him lounge around in warmth while I scrubbed him half to death with a sudsy washcloth. I won't mention the reaction for fear of causing a bloody flashback, but I will say I owe my life to Bel who arrived just in time with a hundred dollar bill and a lighter. To be frank, I wasn't allowed to shower much at the Varia mansion so getting a third opportunity made my heart soar above the clouds. It was immediately decided that I would use every last ounce of hot water for the most magnificent bath in all of history. I literally could not get undressed fast enough. I tripped over my smock and landed flat on my face in a mess of unflattering panties in the middle of the hallway. Honestly, in retrospect, stupidest idea of all time, but I figured if I saw Xanxus I could just say it was all a dream caused by booze and that he was still up in his office. All of the other Varia officers would just have to suck it up and accept the fact I was an overly excited female. Even though I had the body of a twelve year old boy with a very slight glandular issue. I ate one enormous meal a day after hours of intensive working and cleaning so I obviously wasn't any fantastic beauty queen._

_I made a frantic dash around Leviathan whose eyes seemed to bulge out of his head the moment he saw me, probably because I was the only woman he had and ever would see shirtless, before swinging into the first bathroom I found. It was a small one, decorated with clay colored tiles and occupied by a sink, a toilet, and the most magnificently awe inspiring bathtub I had ever laid my eyes upon. I locked the door tightly, for fear of being walked in on by someone, and threw the last remaining articles of my uniform to the floor. Five of the longest minutes in human history later, I was up to my nose in scalding water watching long black hair splay out. Haircuts had to be done by my own hand due to the Varia's greediness and now seemed like as good of a time as any. A pulled a small knife, one the Bel had gifted me for safety, out of the hem of my apron and sawed off a loose ponytail, tossing it over with my clothing before sinking back into the tub. It reached just above my shoulders now; I decided to give my bangs a quick fixing as well. Xanxus had told me that if I wanted the job, I had to look the part so I'd studied every picture of every maid I could find in order to style myself exactly like them. And thus I ended up with some very strange bangs that swoop mostly to the left of my forehead but still manage to cover the right. I figured, if I was getting the immense privilege of a third shower, I ought to be ready to look like the perfect maid for Xanxus who was probably going to call me in for a talk._

_I got to thinking and things became very bleak. Why was I being allowed this amazing glory? Oh god. He was going to kill me wasn't he? I made a furious attempt to leave the tub but managed to stop myself. I had to calm down. It couldn't possibly be anything too bad. And, if I did have to die, it was meant to be. Honestly I had very little to live for aside from bathing, eating, and Bel. If Xanxus was going to kill me, I should just be grateful he let me take a bath first. It didn't take a whole lot for me to console myself. About twenty minutes, and some serious scrubbing of my dirt caked flesh, later I was able to step out of the huge, porcelain bowl and dry myself off. I made another mad dash to Bel's room to pick up a fresh uniform. He let me store my clothing in his dresser because he never used it. Everything he owned was to be strewn across the floor in absolute discord, per request. I fitted everything back over my body with extreme speed, buttoning up the front like a cheetah and fixing that weird maid's headband in my hair with the prowess of a leopard. A few brushes of the fluffy skirt, a few tweaks of the neck ribbon, and finally I was the perfect example of a maid. But I also had no fucking idea where to go and what to do. Which meant I could sleep! Cue Squalo to crush my dreams._

_"Get into his office, woman!" I swear I went deaf on that screech. Why was he so loud? And, even worse, how long had he been standing there?_

_"How! How long-" sharp interruption._

_"GO." I swallowed down a mouthful of violation and fear before heading through yet another long hallway. At the end was a single door, made of mahogany and studded with an aged, brass knob. I pushed it open, slowly revealing the office everyone dreaded. Well, not so much an office as an enormous booze collection. The huge room was lined with shelves that would shame even the best of libraries and every shelf was covered in glass containers of every size and shape. Each beaker was capped tightly and held an exotic substance more potent and delicious than the one before it. In the very back, behind an expertly organized desk and the most luxurious chair you'd ever lay your eyes on; lay a perfect, black ice chest. Next to that, the most enticing set of cups in human existence. Needless to say, it was both an alcoholics dream and the greatest office in human existence. But it was also the most insanely mortifying destination in the history of the universe. I plucked a large envelope off the desk, which had been addressed to 'Woman' in scrawling handwriting, and pulled it open slowly. I fell to the floor. And the rest was a blur of air travel and terror._

"Ragazza?" I stood up and rushed forwards. Of course! It all made sense now! He didn't want me to solve the problem; he wanted me to clean the board! I felt stupid for thinking differently. I was a maid, cleaning was my job. Ragazza meant maid in Italian anyway. I vaguely recall my old name being Ariata. But I have no recollection of any last name or anything. I probably blocked out most of my life before this because it was so fucking terrible. It took me a few moments to finish wiping the board off as I gave sluggish seconds of thought to my past. A hand gripped my wrist.

"What are you doing? Why are you cleaning?" the teacher glared at me in fury.

"I_ have_ to..." I pointed weakly at the board.

"What? I wanted you to solve the equation, not clean it! You don't _have_ to clean!" he snarled, spitting little bits of saliva onto my face. The world seemed to stop in its tracks. I didn't have... To clean? I was falcon punched with realization. I didn't have to pick up another broom, or vacuum, or wash cloth, or ammonia bottle, or washing machine, or mother fucking anything. I didn't have to listen to gut wrenching sex stories and clean crumbs off beds at three in the morning. I didn't have to tolerate Squalo's high level of dick-etry and pretend to think about Levi on a daily basis. I didn't have to clean up blood and deal with overbearing alcoholics and make dinners for all the people I hated and keep watch for intruders and waste my life doing everything for a group of douchebags I never wanted to see again! I DID NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING EVER AGAIN. Aside from keeping an eye on some dumbass named Tuna Saw or whatever weird, generic Japanese name he had. For the first time in fifteen years, I had freedom. Gorgeous, beautiful, intense, amazing, glorious, enchanting, enthralling, wondrous, fantastic freedom! It made my insides melt with absolute joy. I had never felt like this before. The world was my oyster. And I very much intended to make a pearl of it.

"Hey... Teacher..." I was suddenly overtaken by an undying desire to destroy all figures of authority. My new mentor leant down to see what was wrong with me as I'd sort of collapsed from all the excitement. He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. So I shoved my middle finger straight into the bastard's knowledge loving face and started cackling like a demon. I was free. I was truly free. I had finally been released from the shackles of domestic care. The only thing I'd miss was Belphegor's fantastic physique. And his smile, maybe. Perhaps not putting his coat on for him would be a little bit upsetting. But I couldn't worry about that another day because now was the time for explaining my feelings towards all those in a higher position than I.

"_Fuck you_!"

XxXxXxXxX

So maybe that wasn't the best idea. Maybe I should have kept my new outlook on life to myself. I was probably about to be expelled now and there was no one to blame but myself. I'd get sent away and then I'd have to pay for tuition and give myself a disguise. It would all be way more trouble than it was worth. I ran a hand through my freshly washed hair. The hotel penthouse I was staying in had the most awe inspiring shower in current existence and it had not be left alone last night. In a flurry of joy and soul clutching excitement, I had showered about ten times just last night. I was so clean you could eat my flesh and not develop any of those crazy cannibal diseases. My hair felt oddly straw like though, probably due to the three bathes I'd taken this morning just for the Hell of it. God it felt good to be walking down hallways as a free man. I had hated my job so much and now it was all over. I'd been so horrified after thinking I would have to serve Tuna's family that I forgot to realize I was here to spy on them. And that equated to absolute, magical freedom. For a little while, at least. Another thought struck me and my heart did little flip-flops in excitement. If I did a good job gaining information on this guy's famiglia, I might even get promoted to be a Varia officer. And, eventually, a full-on guardian. The thought of having such an amazing life gave me an enormous grin. But it had been about thirty minutes of mindless wandering in an attempt to find the principal's office, an office that might as well have been full of kitties and puppies in comparison to the office of Xanxus, and I had to report sometime soon to avoid being expelled.

"Hey, where's the principal's office around here?" I prodded the shoulder of a young man in front of me. He was sitting in the middle of the hallway, puffing away on a cigarette in boredom. His back was turned to me and all I could make out was a mop of gray hair that reeked of smoke and nicotine. Oh well, I had to ask someone about my dilemma, disgusting scent or not. He turned around to face me, sneering edgily with narrowed teal eyes. My mouth hung open. I threw myself at him immediately. The last memory of my past shot through me like a bullet, tearing up wounds as it traveled through my head.

"G-Gokudera..." I sighed. I remembered him. I missed him. But he didn't. A pair of heavy arms forced my body into a wall of lockers. The feeling of glorious freedom was sucked from my heart.

* * *

_**Bleh~ I feel like things are moving super quickly, sorry about that. I guess I'm just excited to set up all the plotness and such so later chapters are a bit easier. Anywho! Sorry it took me so long to update and blah blah STAR test shit blah di de blah blah. REVIEW. Or I'll use a moustache made of justice on you or whatever other generic leave reviews threat I can come up involving pickaxes and pandas. Toodles! Thanks for reading, mooncalves~**_

_**~DNS**_


	3. Chapter 3: It Was Decided

Piano duets had been popular for years when we first started. But a duo of young children with nothing but raw talent was absolutely unheard of. I was seven at the time and he happened to be eight. His story was a simple one, though. He was simply a talented pianist driven by his father to perform for other people. Mine was more or less heart wrenching. My father had been a very bad man, so bad that neither me nor my mother even knew his name. However, my mother was an equally crude woman at the time. She'd been working as a Sicilian prostitute with no ambition for years and one day, a very bad man came along got and impregnated a very bad woman. Her decision to keep the child was absolutely insane seeing as she could scarcely afford to sustain herself. But, either way, her iron like will to take care of the human growing inside of her could not be broken. She prepared the best she could as the baby grew and once it was born, she named it Ariata Cordazza. Which just so happens to be my real name, the one that doesn't mean maid in Italian.

"Ariata, come sit with your mother." she would always call me into the main room with those words. And I would always come out as quickly as my feet would carry me. I knew whenever she spoke those words; she was going to give me a piano lesson. The very bad man that had been my father had turned out to be a not-so-very-terrible man. For my first birthday, he sent me a card that said 'Happy birthday, Ariata.' on it in swirly handwriting. And then the gift came four weeks later. He had shipped us most beautiful item in current existence. It was a grand piano, painted the purest white of anything I'd ever seen. It looked untouched. Untainted by cruelties and unnoticed by the world that didn't appreciate it fully. Every time I saw the piano sitting in our apartment, I made a silent wish to one day be able to play. My mother, who knew far more about playing such a beast than anyone of ever met, spent entire days playing the stunningly beauteous instrument, both of us did. She would teach me for hours and hours, making sure I was able to play the piece with absolute perfection. But, at age six, things slowly became harder and harder. My mother contracted pneumonia and struggled to make ends meet.

When three rent less months had passed, we were thrown out onto the streets. It was the middle of winter and mom died that night, playing her piano in the middle of the street. I was shipped to an orphanage faster than I had time to realize what had occurred. The piano was, thankfully, delivered with me as a donation to the orphanage. Nobody at my new home liked me and I didn't like them, in fact most of them despised me for never letting them play my piano. The one girl who did press a key on my glorious reminder of old life promptly fell ill and had her fingers broken. That was probably what sent me over the edge for the Varia. I spent weeks doing nothing but playing that piano, it was my only memory of my mother and the better I got, the easier it was to forget about her death.

On my seventh birthday, the owner of the orphanage told a local musician about my talent. Two months later I'm onstage with a boy I hardly know being given the most exuberant standing ovation to be given for a piano duet. Then came my descent into adoration. Gokudera became my first, and only for that matter, friend. We spent most of our time practicing in his mansion, though these sessions normally ended in hours of aimless discussion or soul crushing nausea from his sister's terrible cooking. Sometimes both. Our performances became more and more frequent and one day a very peculiar man named Superbi Squalo came to our orphanage to offer the children a spot in a wonderful production. My piano hubris stopped me from seeing how strange it all was. Then I fought to the death and wound up working as a maid.

"Don't touch me." Gokudera snarled, sharp toothed and furious as he stormed off. I couldn't blame him for not remembering me. I couldn't blame him for making me remember. I couldn't blame Hayato Gokudera for anything but the pain in my shoulder. I was still absolutely stunned, though, not by his sudden streak of violence, but by his drastic personality change. He was never sunshine and rainbow-shitting unicorns, but he'd never been so easily infuriated before. Maybe it was because he didn't recognize me that he came off so rough, but whatever the reason I couldn't help feeling a little bit crushed. It was nothing I'd stop in my tracks to resolve, but it made my heart feel a little heavier in my chest as I searched for the infamous principal's office. I didn't wear my satisfied 'I told a teacher to take the fuck you dragon to the mystical land of Suck My Dick.' grin anymore and my eyebrows seemed to droop downwards in upset. The thought of my freedom did manage to bring a bit of a smile back to my lips, however. Whether or not my longtime, borderline love of my life, childhood friend knew who I was or not, I was still a freeman! And I could do whatever the fuck I wanted to. I could curse like a sailor if that was my desire, and it was. Lussuria had always thrown fashion magazines at me when I cursed, claiming it wasn't ladylike. That one fantastic fruit basket of a man was harder to live with than a million of the most flaming gay men alive. Probably because he'd break your fucking sternum if you told him his mohawk looked silly.

No joke. He snapped by sternum because I said his mohawk was silly. It's a fucking mohawk, its reason for existence is to be silly! But no! Lussuria's just got to ruin it for everyone. Not to mention he then made me sit by his bed for an hour in the most epically searing pain of all time listening to him shit-talk me right to my face as if I were someone else. I even had to feed him bon-bons before Bel finally found me and took me to the hospital. Dreaming about my Lussuria hatred made me feel far better about the day's earlier emotional turmoil. I decided that I'd catch up to Gokudera after school and explain who I was so he would remember me. This whole Vongola process would be a shitload easier if he was my friend again. Or maybe... It was good that he was sour towards me. If he did remember me I'd end up as enamored with him as I had been. Then, I wouldn't be able to watch Bel crush him in battle. I only assumed that the two storm guardians would go up against each other in the end. Something told me that this simple job was going to morph into a raging clusterfuck in just a few months' time. After all, I tended to ruin things for myself. That was probably what telling Gokudera who I was would do, it would end up destroying me in some way or another. Maybe it would just be better for all of us if I kept my mouth closed. It might end up saving me in the long run. But not telling him might also end up ruining my life. There were too many decisions for me in a yes or no question. I wasn't used to deciding things as a maid. I let the other people do the deciding, then I created whatever their decision was. Trying to decide what dinner to make was like a teenage girl deciding whether to wear blue or sky blue on her first date.

And with that thought, I stumbled upon the office that would ultimately hold my demise. The receptionist seemed nice enough, and they gave me a free cup of water so I was pretty happy at first. But, as all things go, the event soon turned into absolute bullshit. After the greatest two hour long catastrophe forever known to me as 'The Monday Manayama Massacre', I stumbled into the hallway. My legs felt like jelly, my ears were ringing, and Squalo had gotten a furious phone call about my poor behavior. Of course, it wasn't the principal, Mr. Manayama, who had been yelling at me so forcefully, it was Squalo himself. Yelling at both me and the ruler of Namimori Middle School at the very same time, all while Lussuria tried to get a word into me about what the uniform looked like and how it fit me. Tonight, I had been given the assignment of taking a picture of me in my skirt, stockings, and dress shirt and sending it to Lussuria so he could show all his friends how terrible I looked. That tended to be a little hobby of his. He would take photographs of me in things that just screamed 'Holy shit this girl is not pretty!' and then criticized them over coffee and biscotti with his best friends, Alan and Omar. Bel had also dropped in on the phone call and introduced himself as a prince before going into full, and oddly dirty, detail about how much he missed me putting his jacket on for him. He claimed he was going to fly to Japan the next time he had a target to kill so I could make sure all his clothing was in order.

Needless to say, I blushed such a flaming shade of red Lussuria would have spent the night with me. I hated to say it, but I really did like the way they treated me now. It was like they actually appreciated my services. I'd been told the house was falling to shambles without me and that if I didn't come back very soon, the prince was going to have to do something drastic. In short, it had been quite the momentous phone call and I was very impressed by my cleverness. Squalo was about to get a billion annoying letters and calls about my performance at school. Of course, desperate for someone to talk to, I got a nightly call from Lussuria along with pictures of souvenirs Bel had chopped off unsuspecting targets for me. They both probably had horrid intentions, but I truly did appreciate the sentiment when it occurred. Not to mention, it made me feel a billion times better about losing Gokudera. I wanted to remain loyal to the Varia without any thought of Vongola patriotism. And if he suddenly got all buddy buddy with me, I didn't know what would happen. My plan was set; I'd finally made a decision. If only he hadn't been standing out in the hallway when I left the principal's office.

"You... You've got some balls to come here..." his slightly rasped voice trailed off. I nodded slowly. He'd changed so much from when he was younger. He was tall now, and handsome to some degree. I had never been the one to ask about men being attractive. Whenever Lussuria spoke to me about that I always asked how they acted and how smart they were. Because of my unsatisfactory looks, I didn't feel like I was in any position to judge the appearance of other people. His hair had gotten longer, as well, and it seemed to glow a little in the artificial light like tinsel on a Christmas tree. Oddly enough, that was exactly where my mind went. He was no longer dressed in little miniature tuxedos, I was disappointed by this as I'd grown so accustomed to seeing him wear them, but he instead dressed like a punk. A black button up shirt left carelessly open over a red tank top and dark wash jeans, accented with spiked bracers and chains and random wristbands. I'd never really seen anyone like him before. Probably because I had never really seen anyone aside from the Varia for the past five years. I liked the way he looked now, even though it stirred a certain melancholy deep in my gut.

"Amazing I can keep them beneath a skirt." we exchanged a sort of awkward laugh. Then he looked at me, making full contact. His teal eyes blended with mine and I saw a small glint in them. He had remembered me, hadn't he? Damn. This was bad. Or at least I was trying to convince myself it was. But no matter how many times I cursed or told myself things would only go downhill, I couldn't force myself to walk away. Or even look away. We both stood adjacent to each other across the hallway, staring intently as if to see who was going to move first and how they were going to. I would have made the first step had I not been rooted to the ground by my thoughts. Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. Yes. Fuck no. I couldn't decide what to do. It like playing mind pong, that stupid little ball kept bouncing no matter how many points one side scored over the other. It was just trying to make me give in, wasn't it? Fuck me. Gokudera, who had seemed very uneasy at first, slowly began to relax. His shoulders seemed to loosen and his eyes lost their ferocious intensity. Something deep in my mind had known all along that he'd remember eventually. That was probably why I was so oddly okay with him throwing me against the lockers and not knowing me. Then he did something unexpected. He stepped forwards sharply, one foot after the other, until he reached me. This time, it was his turn to give the embrace. He tightened his arms in a vice grip around my neck and pulled my head down to his chest.

"I'll teach you to try and assassinate Boss!" he roared, suddenly whipping me around into a strangling position. It was decided. FUCK. ME.

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_**So~ This chapter, finally, gave some insight to Ragazza's past! I'm a little horrified it sounded Mary-Sue, but I made sure to emphasize the amount of practice she put in everyday so it didn't sound too "natural talent"-esque. Hopefully I just avoided the landmine, but I'm still going to tread lightly. MORE REVIEWS. That's the most important thing! While 5 for 2 chapters is awesome, I'd like to get to 10 for 3! Also, romance. I'm not sure if I want to do Gokudera AND Bel or if I just want to focus a bit more on Bel and have mainly friendship with Gokudera. Mleh. Tell me what you think, mooncalves! Thanks for reading!**_

_**~DNS**_


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